Behind the Scenes with Heero and Relena
by Maxine-san
Summary: Why did Relena REALLY visit Heero and Duo's school? What's the real reason Heero tries to kill Queen Relena? And do you really think Relena didn't notice Heero in the balcony during Endless Waltz? This is what wasn't ever shown! Finished!
1. Chapter 1

Behind the Scenes with Heero and Relena - Chapter 1

_disclaimer_ - Gundam Wing isn't mine!

_notes_ - I started writing Behind the Scenes here on FFnet in 2000, and it was finished in November of 2001. So yeah, it's old, lol. I haven't changed anything since then, so if you just so happen to recognize the fic, that's why. Though I kind of doubt anyone from back then would be reading this again, hehe.

This chapter starts after episode...6, I think it was. 'Party Night,' whichever episode that was.

* * *

Heero sat in his room reading a book, or trying to at least. His mind kept drifting back to earlier that night. He had no idea what had come over him, what possessed him to do that. He had actually accepted Relena's invitation to go to the school dance, then he had danced with her, and to top it all off, he had saved her from death rather than killing her! She was just an annoyance, and obstacle he needed to remove to complete his mission, wasn't she? Heero had never been so confused. 'I should just kill her and get it over with.' He thought. 'But...I can't. I know I should, but I wasn't able to do it earlier. What was holding me back?' Heero looked up sharply as he heard a slight rapping at the door. 'Who the heck could that be?' he wondered. Picking up his gun, he walked over to the door. Taking a deep breath, he opened it slightly, surprised to see- 'Speak of the devil.' Thought Heero. There stood Relena, wearing her pajama pants (you know, the drawstring kind) and a spaghetti-strapped shirt. Heero didn't open the door any further, and stood there waiting for her to speak. "I should just close the door in her face...' he thought, but didn't.

"Hello Heero." When she didn't get any reply, she continued. "Do you think I could come in for a little while? I wanted to speak with you." Heero didn't answer for a while, but finally his hand opened the door further, as if against his will. Relena stepped into the room and shut the door behind her.

"Aren't we supposed to be in our rooms now?" Heero asked coldly. However, that did not affect Relena.

"Normally, yes." She answered. "However I don't stay in the dorms. I usually go back to my home. My mother thinks I'm at one of my friends' rooms, and staying there for the night. Everyone is aloud to be out tonight until 2 a.m., because of the dance. There are all sorts of parties going on right now." Heero looked over his shoulder to the clock on his nightstand and swallowed semi-nervously, though it didn't show on his face. It was only 12 a.m. She had two hours before anyone would even check to see if people were in their dorms. Relena looked Heero over to see that he was in sweat pants and a T-shirt. She smiled slightly and locked the door behind her without Heero noticing, and walked over to the bed. After sitting down she surveyed his room. "Nice place you got here. Kind of bland though. Where's all your stuff?" Heero walked over to his desk, pulled out the chair and straddled it facing Relena. He just stared at her coldly without answering. Relena sighed. "You know, I'm not going any here, so unless you want to have a staring contest for two hours, you better talk to me." Heero glared at her before answering.

"In case you've forgotten, I was supposed to leave today so all of my stuff is packed. It's too late to go anywhere now." Relena smiled.

"Oh yes, that's right. Well I just wanted you to have some fun before you left, even though that probably wasn't fun for you. It's a good thing you didn't leave though, otherwise those mobile suits probably would have killed me."

"I should have let them anyway." Heero grumbled. Relena looked him straight in the eye.

"Why did you save me?" Heero's eyes widened a tiny bit and he remained quiet. He didn't have an answer to that. "Well?" Relena asked, enjoying his discomfort.

"I...I don't-" Heero stopped as he heard his laptop beep. He quickly glanced at Relena, giving her a look that said, "Be quiet, or else..." and turned on the computer to be greeted by Dr. J's face. "Dr. J." he said.

"Heero." Dr. J. clamped his mechanical hand. "Why aren't you at your new mission area?"

"I got side-tracked. There was a dance at the school tonight-"

"A dance? You stayed for a dance?"

"No!" Heero answered almost too quickly. Dr. J clamped his hand again. "I had a feeling that something might happen, so I stayed behind just in case. It turned out that OZ attacked."

"They did? I wasn't aware of that."

"I destroyed all the suits they brought." Dr. J looked thoughtful for a minute.

"You know Heero," he started, "Your personal life is none of my business. You can do anything you want, just so long it doesn't get in the way of your missions."

"Wha, what do you mean?" asked Heero.

"I seriously doubt you just stayed behind because you had a feeling OZ might attack. It turns they did come, and you were lucky you were there. However, you say there was a dance? I'm guessing you attended the dance, hmm?" Heero didn't answer. "Ah well. I met Dorlian's daughter. She attends your school."

"Yes I know, she told me."

"Oh did she? Nice girl, pity her father died. Anyway, just remember to complete your missions." With that Dr. J signed off, and Heero stared at the blank screen for a moment before Relena spoke up.

"So," she said slyly, "he says he doesn't care about your personal life hmm? You can do whatever you want." Heero didn't answer, didn't even look at her.

'I need to kill her' he thought. 'She needs to die. She is only distracting me.' Relena stood up.

"Look at me Heero." He did, but before she could say anything, he stood up and pointed his gun at her face. She didn't even flinch.

"Omae o korosu Relena." His finger tightened on the trigger, but he couldn't make himself pull it all the way. 'What is wrong with-.' Heero couldn't finish that thought though, because Relena suddenly grabbed the gun, pulled it down, and stepped up to give Heero a hard kiss on the mouth. Heero's muscles snapped tight, and his eyes widened. When he finally recovered, he pulled away quickly. He lifted up his gun to Relena's face again and practically yelled, "What the hell was that!" Relena smiled.

"That," she said, "would be known as a kiss." Heero lowered his gun slightly.

"I know that," he said exasperated. "Why?" Relena didn't answer and looked down towards Heero's gun. Heero followed her gaze wondering why she would be looked at his gun. His eyes widened as he realized why she looked there. He didn't have his gun! "What the!" Heero exclaimed and started looking around for it.

"Looking for this?" Relena said slyly, pulling his gun out from behind her back. Heero narrowed his eyes.

"Give it back," he demanded holding out his hand.

"Nuh-uh. You have to come and get it."

"Relena..." he went to reach for it, but Relena just stepped back and held it behind her. She grabbed the hand he was holding out and yanked him towards her. She then kissed him hard again. While kissing him she turned around so that he had his back to the bed. Of course, Heero tried to break of the kiss, and only managed to trip and fall back wards on to the bed in a sitting position with Relena standing over him. He looked up at her with wide eyes; he had no idea what she was going to do next, and that made him nervous. "Rel-." He couldn't finish because Relena kissed him again. She then straddled him and starting rubbing her hips against his. Heero's eyes widened and he gasped, giving Relena the opportunity to slip her tongue into his mouth. If possible, Heero's eyes widened even further and he tried to back off. When he found he couldn't, he reluctantly started kissing her back. Surprisingly, he found that it wasn't hard to do, and he was actually enjoying it. Relena was the one who broke it off and Heero stared at her with confusion in his eyes.

"Well," she said. "Either someone is actually enjoying this, or you have an extra gun in your sweats that I did not know about." Relena slyly rubbed her hips against Heero again, to show him exactly WHAT she was talking about. Heero blushed red and tried to come up with something to say to that, but only managed in stuttering. "Aw, your cute when you blush." Relena said, and then kissed him again, slipping her hand under his shirt. She slipped it off his head, and then went to remove her own shirt. She was wearing a bra, but still, that was the most Heero had seen of any woman. He reached out to run his hands along one breast, before saying:

"Your beautiful, Relena." She smiled and bent down to kiss him some more. In mid-kiss, Heero effortlessly lifted Relena off of him, and laid her down on the pillows so that he was now on top of her. She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Heero reached behind Relena to unclasp her bra, and he pulled it off. He stared at her on wonder before reaching down to give his attention to her breasts, trying to ignore his own arousal for the time being. In the hours to come, the young couple continued their lovemaking, and when we next see them, it's finally morning.

& & & &

Heero woke up to the annoying sound of an alarm clock going off when you really don't want to wake up. Without even looking at the clock, he groaned and yanked it's plug out of the socket before throwing the clock onto the floor. He then went back to sleep. Relena awoke a few hours later. She tried to sit up, but found she couldn't. She looked down to see an arm wrapped around her waist. Following the arm up to its owner, Relena smiled slightly as she looked into his face. Relena had never seen Heero look so relaxed. Of course, she hadn't known him that long, but she doubted she would ever see him look that relaxed again. Relena leaned back into Heero's chest, but that little bit off movement caused him to wake up. He stirred before opening one eye lazily. Wondering what had woken him up, he opened both eyes and looked down to find Relena there smiling up at him. His eyes widened as he remembered the events from the night before. He smiled a small smile, and that made Relena's smile widen.

"Good morning!" she said, and reached up to give him a quick kiss. She then sat up and looked around. "Actually, it's probably past morning." Relena commented as she looked out the window.

"What!" Heero sat up. "Where's my clock?" He leaned over the side of the bed and picked up the clock. After jamming the plug back into the socket, he looked at the clock. "Shit!" he exclaimed. "It's 11:43! I need to leave."

"You need a shower." Heero looked at her.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well we were all sweaty after last night, so you probably smell."

"Well if I smell, then so do you."

"Yes that's true. I probably need a shower too." Relena said, looking at Heero slyly. He got the point without her saying anything and smiled evilly.

"Well then, let's go." He lifted Relena up and walked off towards the bathroom with her laughing the whole way.

About and hour later, they finally emerged. Heero dressed in a school uniform since he was leaving, and Relena in the same clothes from the night before, which she had to collect from all over the room.

"Well," said Relena. "I guess this is goodbye, for now anyway."

"Relena, I don't know if I'll be able to see you again."

"Oh you'll see me again. You can be sure of that." Relena kissed Heero quickly before turning to his window.

"You can leave through the door you know." Said Heero.

"Not really, it's the middle of the day, and this is the boy's dorm. I'd be caught."

"Oh, right."

"I'll be seeing ya Heero." With that, Relena climbed out the window, and made her way down the side of the building. She jumped to the ground, and turned to wave at Heero. He lifted a hand, which caused Relena to smile. She turned and walked off towards her house. Heero stared after. 'Weak' he scolded himself. 'This is a mistake. You shouldn't have done that. You easily could have stopped her last night.' However, Heero couldn't help but look forward to the next time he would see her. He turned away from the window, the cold hardness back in his eyes, ready to complete his mission.

* * *

...Ok, so luckily this fic is short. Only seven chapters. Each one takes place after certain episodes in the series, but...um...I kinda don't remember _which_ episodes. Eh-heh... Whoops! I'll try my best to remember.

-Maxine


	2. Chapter 2

Behind the Scenes with Heero and Relena -Chapter 2 

This chapterstarts during the episode where Heero and Duo attend the same school for a while, and they have that basketball game...

* * *

It was a bright, sunny day. Most of the kids on campus were walking about smiling and laughing with their friends. Classes were over for the day, and the basketball team had just won another game, the winning point being scored by the mysterious new guy who had just transferred to their school, so everyone had good reasons to be happy. There was one boy who seemed untouched by all of this, and he was sitting on a bench by the water by himself. One would have thought he'd be happy, because he was the one who had scored the winning point it the basketball game. However, basketball was the last thing on his mind. He was concentrating more on his upcoming mission, the reason he was at this school. Currently he was wondering how one person could talk so much when he was supposed to be a soldier. The person he was referring to was Duo Maxwell, who had had the courtesy to come over and "cheer him up" after the game. It just so happened that he had the same mission as Heero did. Heero didn't understand why the scientists had assigned them both to the same mission, but he wasn't one to question others. Heero was about to tell Duo to shut up, but suddenly a pink limo drove up in front of the school. It was a very familiar pink limo, and out of it stepped a very familiar looking girl. Duo looked towards the girl and his eyes widened. 

"Hey, that's..." Duo stuttered.

"Relena..." Heero said, his voice slightly displaying his shock. Relena slowly walked towards the two boys, ignoring the small crowd that had formed.

"Heero," she said smiling. "I wanted to see you again.

'Well obviously,' thought Heero. 'You came all the way over here.'

"Well," Duo commented next to him. "It's not every day a girl wants to see the guy who tried to kill her."

"Hn," Heero replied, and turned away. 'I can't look excited to see her. I must act like what happened before never really happened, and it can't happen again.'

"Hey come on! Let's go say hi to her. She must really like you or something to come all the way out here to see you," Duo said, grabbing Heero's arm and attempting to drag him over to Relena. He didn't get very far because Heero quickly brushed him off and walked away, leaving Duo with a semi-shocked look on his face, and Relena with a knowing one on hers.

The next day, Relena went to the school again, attempting to find Heero so she could talk to him. Apparently, she had gone a little to early because classes were still going on. Thinking she could find him walking to his next class, Relena called out his name. Hearing someone speak to her from behind, she quickly turned around.

"Hey good looking! Nice day isn't? Well, gotta get to our next class, see ya!" Duo said before walking off to his next class. Behind him Heero walked by without even acknowledging Relena's presence.

'That's ok,' thought Relena as she turned to get back into her limo. 'If he thinks that just because he's ignoring me I'll forget about him, then he has another thing coming.' Smirking in an un-Relena like way, she climbed into her car.

That evening, late enough for Pagan to be asleep, but still early enough for Heero to be awake, Relena snuck out of her hotel room and quickly and quietly made her way to the school dorms. She had left a note to Pagan saying that she had woken early and decided to go for a walk and eat breakfast somewhere along the way. Finally arriving at her destination, Relena looked down at the piece of paper she held that contained Heero's room number, and then back up to the rooms. Only about two rooms had the lights on.

'I'll bet those are Heero and that other guy's rooms.' Thought Relena as she tried to figure out how to get to his room. As she scanned the side of the building, she noticed that, unlike her school, all these rooms had balconies, and staircases that connected them. 'How convenient. Hopefully they aren't too noisy.' Relena silently walked over to the staircase and hauled herself onto it. To her advantage, the stairs seemed extremely sturdy, and didn't make any noises as she made her way to Heero's room.

Inside his room, Heero was lying on the bed on his stomach reading a book. It was the same book he had been reading the night Relena had first come into his room; he'd never really had time to finish it. Rolling over onto his back, Heero sighed. Why did she have to come here? Couldn't she just forget about him? 'I really need to go through with it and kill her.' Heero thought. 'The only problem is...I don't know if I could.' Heero sighed again and shut his eyes, his head hanging off the edge of the bed. Not two seconds later his eyes popped open and looked over toward his balcony doors where he heard a slight rapping on the glass. Heero's eyes widened when he immediately recognized the figure outside his door, and he flipped back onto is stomach. Relena smiled now that he had seen her. Now she just had to get him to open the door... Pointing down at the door handle, she looked at him with hope filled eyes. Heero eyes narrowed and he didn't move from his spot for several minutes. When Relena didn't show any signs of leaving, Heero let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and swung his legs over the side of the bed to get up. He slowly walked towards the door and put his hand on the handle.

'Ok,' thought Heero. 'Open the door and tell her to get lost. I'll tell her that if I see her again, I'll kill her.' Filled with determination, he opened the door. Heero opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, Relena silenced him with a short kiss and stepped into the room.

"Took you long enough," Relena said.

'Ok, scratch that one, she's obviously not leaving,' thought Heero as he stared at her with wide eyes.

"Well, aren't you going to say something?" Heero finally recovered.

"Relena," he practically growled. "What are you doing here?" Relena looked at him innocently.

"Can't I come by to see you every so often?"

"Not really. Relena, we can't do this."

"Why not?" Relena asked.

"Because...well, just because..."

"If your going to say it's because your a Gundam pilot or something, then you should know that I won't accept that answer."

"But that IS the reason. Dr. J-"

"Dr. J said that he didn't care about your personal life," Relena said, cutting Heero off. "Just so long it doesn't interfere with your missions."

"It will interfere with my missions though."

"How will it?"

"...Relena would you stop asking so many questions! It just would. I can't have any sort of relationship with you, and I don't want one," Heero said harshly.

"You don't want one?" Relena asked in mock sadness. She suddenly grinned evilly. "I bet I can convince you otherwise." Heero swallowed and started to back up slowly as Relena advanced towards him.

"Relena, I can't. I-" Heero stopped what he was saying as his back hit the wall behind him. He had run out of room. 'How do I get myself into these situations?' he pondered. 'I'm supposed to be the perfect soldier on the battlefield, but put me in a bedroom with a girl and I totally blank out.' Relena stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her body against his. Heero closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, taking in short breaths. Despite himself, he could tell he was getting aroused, and was only too glad he wasn't wearing his spandex. Putting his hands on Relena's hips, he pushed her back slightly so that she hopefully wouldn't notice that part of him obviously wanted to do this. "Relena," Heero pleaded quietly, knowing it was a worthless attempt.

"Hmm?" she replied, looking up into to his face. Their eyes connected and it was like it sent an electric shock through both of them.

"I hate you," Heero whispered, and bent down to capture her lips with his own. Relena broke the kiss.

"I know," she replied with a small smile, and kissed him again, leading him over to the bed.

& & & &

Heero awoke the next morning because someone was knocking loudly on his door. Groaning, he untangled himself from Relena, and wrapping a sheet around his waist, he walked over to the door.

"Who is it?" he asked gruffly.

"It's Duo." Heero groaned.

"What do you want?"

"Well! Excuuuuse me, but you weren't at breakfast, so I decided to come and see if you were alright." Not getting a response to that, Duo continued. "Can I come in?"

"No, go away."

"I need to talk to you though." The door opened a crack and Heero glared at Duo.

"About what?"

"About...the mission..." Duo trailed off, looking at Heero. "Heero, why do you have a sheet wrapped around your waste?" Heero blushed slightly and looked down and then over to the bed.

"Um..." Duo noticed him looking away for the door to where he assumed the bed was, if this room was arranged the way his was. His eyes widened.

"Heero, you didn't...did you?" Heero snapped his head back to Duo and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Didn't what?" he asked, trying to appear innocent, something he wasn't very good at.

"Oh my God, you did, didn't you! You have a girl in there, don't you! Man, I never thought you had it in you!" Duo practically shouted.

"Duo! Shut up!" Heero whispered harshly, grabbing Duo by the wrist and yanking him into the room so he wouldn't attract nosy listeners. Once inside the room, Duo looked towards the bead.

"Holy shit! You did! I don't believe it..." he trailed off. "Is that that one girl? The one you tried to kill?" Heero grabbed Duo by the shoulders, twisted him around, and glared at him. "Alright, alright. I won't look at her. Geez, you're very protective." Heero tried to cross his arms, forgetting that he still had to hold up the sheet, and barely caught it as it started to fall off. Quiet laughter came from the bed, and Heero looked over Duo's shoulder towards it. Relena was lying on her stomach, but had woken up.

"Close call there Heero," she said lightly and still giggling. Heero glared at her. Duo turned around just as Relena was getting up, but she had wrapped another sheet around her so he didn't see anything he shouldn't have.

"Well, Heero, aren't you going to introduce me to your girlfriend?" Duo asked.

"She's not my-"

"I'm Relena Peacecraft," Relena said, extending a hand. Duo shook her hand, and then realized what she had said.

"Peacecraft!" both he and Heero exclaimed at the same time.

"I thought you were Relena Dorlain." Heero said.

"Yes, well, I was, but not biologically. Look, it's a long story that I don't feel like explaining. Besides, you haven't told me who you are."

"I'm Duo, Duo Maxwell. I may run and hide, but I never tell a lie."

"A simple Duo Maxwell would have been fine." Heero said.

"Well it's nice to meet you Duo. And yes, I was the one who Heero was trying to kill at the docks."

"Really? Wow, so how did this happen?"

"Well..."

"It's another long story," Heero cut it.

"It's not that long," Relena said, looking at Heero. "You just don't want me to explain it. You're too embarrassed," she teased, sauntering over to Heero and wrapping one arm around him, the other still holding up her sheet.

"I am not," Heero mumbled, forgetting Duo was in the room.

"Yes you are. You don't want me to say that I was the one who seduced you. Well, am I right?" Heero didn't answer, he just glared at her. "I knew it," Relena laughed, and reached up to kiss him. He returned it full force, and wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her closer.

"Um...guys? I'm still here you know. Helloooo? Look, I think I'll just let myself out..." Duo commented, trying to get their attention. Heero abruptly broke off the kiss, and blushed bright red. He stepped back from Relena, who smirked at him, and ran a hand through his hair.

"You don't have to leave," Relena said, turning to Duo. "Today's Saturday, right? I say we all go out and do something. You can take one day off can't you?" Heero stared at her, wondering what under Heaven she was trying to accomplish, but Duo's face broke into a smile and he started nodding his head.

"Yeah, there's a carnival or something in town today. I heard a lot of the kids talking about it. We could go there!"

"Duo, we can't. We have our mission," Heero said, back in perfect soldier mode.

"Well we can't do that during the day anyway, and it doesn't have to be completed until tomorrow night."

"...Fine."

"Ok, sounds good. I'll have to call Pagan. I'll just tell him I decided to hang around the carnival for a while."

"Cool! So, I'll just leave you two alone for like, what, thirty minutes so you can get ready?"

"That should be fine," said Relena.

"Yeah, just so long you don't hop back in bed," Duo commented before turning around. "I'll come back up in thirty minutes, 'kay? See ya." With that, Duo let himself out.

"Why exactly did you suggest that?" Heero asked Relena. She looked at him, and then started picking up her clothes from around the room.

"Because you need to have a day off and do something fun."

"Carnival's are not fun to me."

"Have you ever been to one?"

"...No."

"Then how would you know? Come on, let's go get ready," Relena said, walking towards the bathroom, with Heero trailing behind. 'He'll have fun today,' Relena thought, glancing back over her shoulder at Heero. 'I'll make sure of it.'

* * *

Moving on... 

-Maxine


	3. Chapter 3

Behind the Scenes with Heero and Relena -Chapter 3

Still continuing from that basketball episode...

* * *

The day went pretty well. Heero and Relena managed to get ready in the thirty minutes Duo gave them, and soon all three were walking the streets of the city trying to locate the Carnival everyone had been talking about, just like any normal kids. That was basically what they got out of the whole day, the sense that they could act as normal people, even if just for a few hours. It was refreshing, it was relaxing, and it was fun. The Carnival wasn't difficult to find, all you had to do was follow the throngs of people and signs. The trio spent the day going on those rides that all carnivals have, eating cotton candy, winning prizes from booths, (having two Gundam pilots with her proved to be advantageous for Relena; she was carrying two bags of various prizes and a large teddy bear with her wherever she went.) and acting like everyone else around them. Or at least doing their best to. It was difficult to make Heero look as if he was having a good time. Relena had wanted to get some sort of reaction out of him, and she managed to, though it wasn't what she wanted. At some points during the day, it was obvious that Heero looked...jealous? Whether it was from the fact that Duo and she were laughing and having a great time, or that it was DUO who could talk easily and laugh with her, Relena wasn't sure, but it was definitely there. She felt a little guilty about that, but it couldn't be helped. At least she managed to get Heero to laugh a little when Duo got drenched in some water ride.

Relena smiled to herself. It was already past eight. The day had gone by well, better than she originally thought. She and Duo had hit it off great; they'd been joking and laughing with each other the whole day. Sighing contentedly, Relena shifted the giant bear she was holding in her arms, and took another bight of her cotton candy. She finished it off and tossed away the stick. Looking around at the other people, her gaze landed on a particularly large group standing around a telephone pole looking at something. Tugging on Heero's sleeve and looping her free arm through Duo's, she said, "Come on guys. Let's go see what they're all looking at." Duo and Heero said nothing, they simply followed her. Pushing her way through the crowd, Relena made her way to the source of everyone's attention, and her eyes immediately lit up. "They're having a dance contest tonight! Oh let's go! Please!" she exclaimed, shifting her eyes between Duo and Heero.

Duo smiled brightly. "Sure! Fine by me, I love dances. Heero?"

"Hn," Heero said, looking indifferent.

"Come on! It'll be fun," Relena said, dragging them to the parking lot where the dance was to be held. "It's starts at 8:30. That's in like, ten minutes."

"Relena, it's a dance CONTEST, not just a dance," Heero pointed out.

"Oh I know. I'm not expecting to win anything; I just think its fun. I've been taking dances lessons all my life. It's the one thing my mother made me stick to."

"What type of dance?" Duo asked.

"Oh gosh, everything from ballet to jazz to swing to tap. I don't think there's anything I haven't tried. Swing dancing's my favorite though." Duo's eyes lit up.

"Lena, I think you and I are going to have a good time tonight."

"Lena?" asked Heero, glaring at Duo. Duo held his hands up defensively.

"Ok, ok, sorry. RE-lena. My bad. Gosh, you're so over protective," Duo mumbled. Relena laughed.

"Don't worry about it Duo. My father used to call me that all the time, so it doesn't bother me. Actually, it brings back good memories." Duo turned to Relena.

"You and your dad were pretty close, huh?"

"Yeah," Relena smile sadly. "You don't know how shocked I was when I found out he wasn't my biological father." It was quiet for a minute before Duo slung his arms over Heero and Relena's shoulders, ignoring the look Heero sent him.

"Well guys, let's go!" Several minutes later, a man with a loudspeaker walked to the middle of the parking lot. After getting the crowd's attention, he spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention please! Thank you, thank you. Ok, we're going to begin tonight's contest by hosting a regular dance like one that you might attend at a school or someplace. The judges and I will be walking around, observing your dances, and those who we think are good enough to participate in the contest will be told. If they want to sign up, then they are welcome to. Tonight's contest is a "Couple's Contest," meaning you must have a partner to dance with if you want to be in the competition. We will be playing various styles of music, and if you don't want to be in the contest, then you certainly don't have to be. All are welcome to just dance! Thank you for your attention, and please, have a great time! The finals will probably be between 10 and 10:30. Thank you again!" That being said, the man walked off, and an old tune started floating through the air, one that caused Relena to smile.

"Can you swing dance, Heero?" she asked, turning around to face him. He looked coldly at her through narrowed eyes.

"I don't dance," he said simply, and broke eye contact with her. Relena's smile didn't waver.

"Oh really? Is this a new thing? Because you danced with me at our school dance." Heero didn't reply, and it occurred to her that he probably didn't know HOW to swing dance. Slow dancing was one thing, but swing dancing was totally different. "Ok then, that's alright." Turning to Duo, Relena asked, "How about you?"

Smiling widely, he replied, "Baby, you better believe it." Duo grabbed Relena's hand and started dragging her out to the dance floor, with her laughing the whole time. He looked back once over his shoulder to Heero and said, "Have fun buddy." He got a glare in return.

Relena threw her head back and laughed as Duo swung her around. She was having a blast! Relena hadn't expected Duo to be this good at dancing. She felt guilty though for leaving Heero by himself. However, she hadn't come to the dance to stand around, and if Heero didn't want to dance, then so be it. Relena was to busy laughing as Duo twirled her around to notice the man with a clipboard walk up to them.

"Uh, excuse me." Both Duo and Relena stopped and looked at him. "Sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you would like to join the contest? I was observing you two, and I like what I saw." Duo glanced at Relena, and the smile she was giving him was all he needed.

"Sure thing," Duo answered while smiling.

"Great. If you'd just put your name down here, and the contest will start in about ten minutes." Duo nodded and took the pen to put his name down.

"Duo," Relena whispered, "make up different names, k?" Duo nodded again understanding what she was getting at. "Ok, let's go tell Heero!" Relena dragged Duo off in search of the unruly haired boy. "I can't see him," she said, standing on her toes and looking around.

"Me neither," Duo said, also looking around.

"Oh well, if he doesn't want to be found then so be it, let's keep dancing."

"Okey-dokey." Duo took Relena's hand, but as soon as he did so, the fast paced song they had been dancing to abruptly slowed down, and around them all the various couples took their places in each other's arms, swaying to the beat. Duo looked at Relena mischievously. Bending over, he extended his hand to her and said in a British accent, "May I have this dance milady?"

Relena giggled and accepted his hand. "Well I would be delighted my good Sir," she said in an accent that matched Duo's. Smiling, Duo wrapped an arm behind Relena's waist and pulled her closer to him. Following his lead, Relena wrapped her arms behind Duo's neck and rested her head on his chest, feeling as if she and Duo had been childhood friends their whole lives. The two stayed like this for a little while before Relena lifted her head to look into Duo's eyes. "You're a good dancer Duo. I hadn't been expecting that from a Gundam pilot, no offense."

Duo smiled widely. "None taken, and thanks. I love dancing. When I lived at the Maxwell Church, Sister Helen taught me all sorts of-" Duo stopped abruptly and his smile disappeared, replaced with a look a sadness. Relena noticed this, and brought her hand up to brush some bangs out of Duo's face.

"Duo," he looked down at her. "It's ok to talk about the past and about loved ones we've lost," she said, guessing what had happened to this Sister Helen. "It's much better to talk about the good memories you have of those people than to lock them away forever and think only about the fact that they're gone. That's too painful. I've found that with my father I've looked past the fact that he's not my real dad, and I only think about the good times we used to have together." Duo smiled a little.

"Yeah, your right, but sometimes...it's just difficult. I've always felt as if it were my fault and I'll always blame myself, even though there wasn't really anything I could've done about it."

"That's better," Relena said, smiling. Suddenly her eyes narrowed and her smile turned into a frown as she looked at something past Duo's shoulder. "What does she think she's doing," she muttered to herself.

"Huh? What?" Confused, Duo spun around to see the source of Relena's annoyance, and could barely hold in his laughter at what he saw. Not too far away from them, some blonde woman was dragging out Heero onto the dance floor, and he looked anything but pleased by it. Actually, he looked as if he was about to have a panic attack, which was amusing because Heero never really showed too much emotion. Duo chuckled, and Relena soon joined him is his laughter.

"If you'll excuse me Duo. Sorry, but I think I should go save Heero from that blonde bimbo before he pulls a gun out on her," Relena said, pulling away from Duo's hold.

"Hey no problem. You'd better get over there fast, because I think I saw his hand moving towards it right now." Relena laughed.

"I'll be back in time for the contest," she called out over her shoulder as she walked away. Relena had to hold in her laughter at the sight before her. The blonde woman was currently trying to get Heero to keep his hands on her hips, and she kept trying to close the distance between then even though Heero continued to hold her at arm's length. Looking up, Heero caught sight of Relena heading towards them and sent her a desperate, pleading look. Relena giggled and tapped the blonde woman's shoulder. "Um, excuse me, but you're dancing with my boyfriend, and he promised he'd dance with me next." The blonde woman released her grip on Heero, who immediately latched onto Relena like he was about to dance with her, and turned to Relena.

Looking her up once, she said, "He's YOUR boyfriend? Damn. And here I thought I'd finally found me one of those shy but incredibly sexy hunks. Go figure." That said, she walked off into the crowd.

Heero watched her go with semi-wide eyes. "Gah, she just came out of nowhere and dragged me out here with her," he said, scowling. "I didn't even get the chance to say no. I was about ready to shoot her."

Relena giggled. "So I noticed." Pulling herself closer to Heero, Relena laid her head on his shoulder much like she had done to Duo. "Dance Heero," she commanded, and he complied, swaying slowly with the music. (A/N: This is a really long song, ne?) Relena sighed. This was how she wished everything could stay, now and forever. No disruptions, no war to deal with, and no death. Maybe, in another place and another time, but back to reality. There definitely was a war raging on, and she was dancing with one of the main participants in it. Relena wouldn't change anything for the world though. Closing everything off around her, Relena focused only on Heero and herself, happy that for now she could pretend they were the only ones in the world. Just she and Heero-

"Well you two love birds look pretty cozy." And Duo. Relena sighed. It figured that nothing good could last for more than a minute. As her mind focused on the real world again, she noticed that she and Heero were dancing to a song that was no longer playing. Heero noticed this also and pushed Relena away from him gently.

"Hello Duo," Relena sighed.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I thought you might want to know that the contest is starting." Heero gave Relena a questioning look.

"Contest?"

"Yeah," Relena said, perking up a little. "Duo and I were asked to be in the dance contest. Not that we'll get very far, but it should be fun." Boy was she wrong. Relena and Duo made it all the way to the "finals," which consisted of the last five couples competing against each other. It was funny that they made it that far when they weren't even trying. Duo and she were laughing the entire time, through all the mistakes they made, and were generally having a great time, unlike some of the other serious couples that really wanted to win. Unfortunately for those people, they DIDN'T make it far because their dances were considered too stiff and formal. The judges liked the laid back style of Duo and Relena. They ended up getting third overall. Both got a small medal, and they had a trophy to share.

"I think I'll let you have the trophy," Duo said as he and Relena walked off the platform towards Heero. "I don't really think there's any room for it in Deathscythe."

"Deathscythe? Is that what you call your Gundam?"

"Yes-sir-ee. Deathscythe and I go back a long ways. Hey Heero!" Duo shouted as he and Relena neared the boy.

"You guys looked good up there," Heero said with a bit of an edge in his voice.

"Aw, don't worry Heero, I'm not gonna steal your girlfriend." Heero glared at him.

"She's NOT my girl-"

"Oh shove it," Relena said, looping her arm through Heero's. "Come on guys. There's supposed to be fireworks at 11." With that, Relena dragged the two boys off.

Thirty minutes later found the three lying in the grass on a hilltop watching the fireworks burst in the sky above them.

"This was fun," Duo said as flipped onto his side to look at Relena. "It's a shame it couldn't last longer. Tomorrow we have to go back to being killing machines."

"Don't talk so loud. Someone might over hear you," Heero put in, as he too flipped to face Relena who was in between the two.

"I agree," Relena said quietly.

"What? You don't want me to talk loud either?" Duo asked looking slightly offended. Relena laughed.

"No, no that's not what I meant. I agree with what you said before. This was fun. Did you have fun Heero," Relena asked, glancing over at the stoic teen next to her. He didn't answer for a while; he just fiddled around with a piece of grass.

"I did," he admitted finally. "I mean, as much as I could have," Heero finished quickly. Relena smiled. Eventually, she noticed that the fireworks had stopped, and the only light they were receiving was shining down on them from the moon.

"Well guys," she said, sitting up. "I think we should be going back soon. Pagan's going to flip if I don't contact him soon."

"We'll walk you back," Duo offered. "It's too dark for you to be wondering around by yourself.

"Thanks," said Relena, smiling. The three of them walked in silence, taking their time to get back to the hotel Relena was staying at. When they finally arrived at their destination, Relena turned to face the two boys. "I really did have a good time today. You two better stay safe, I'll expect to see BOTH of you again." Duo smiled and was about to reply when Relena wrapped her arms around his neck. "It was good to meet you Duo. You're a great dancer!" Pulling back, she kissed him lightly on the cheek, smiling at the slight blush that spread across his face.

"Hey," he said after he recovered, "the pleasure is all mine. I will definitely be sure to visit you sometime little missy." Relena smiled again and turned to Heero, who in turn thrust his hand out in her direction. She looked down at it for a second, and then finally grasped it with her own hand. Yanking Heero towards her, Relena pressed her lips to his, smiling into the kiss when he decided to deepen it. Heero pulled back somewhat reluctantly and backed away from Relena. Looking towards Duo, Heero gestured with his head towards the road, signaling that it was time for them to go. Giving a farewell smile to Relena, Duo rushed off after him. They hadn't gotten very far when Heero stopped and turned around again.

"You better not come after me on anymore missions. That's too dangerous, and you could get hurt," he yelled back to girl standing in the doorway.

"Well I'm glad you care!" Relena shouted back. Heero took that as an agreement that she wouldn't go after him again. He really shouldn't have, as he would find out months later when Relena would go to the extent of flying to Antarctica just to deliver a letter to him. Ahh, the things you do when you're in love. Unfortunately, Heero and Relena would not have the chance to actually speak with one another until even later, when Heero and Quatre took refuge in the Sank Kingdom with the newly appointed PRINCESS Relena.

* * *

lol, I don't remember there being any carnivals in GW. Do you? I don't! I thinkwanted them to do something aside from battling.

-Maxine


	4. Chapter 4

Behind the Scenes with Heero and Relena -Chapter 4

Alrighty, this chapter takes place during the episodes when Heero and Quatre are staying at the Sank Kingdom.

* * *

He should never of come to the Sank Kingdom. Of that, he was positive. Why he had ever agreed with Quatre was beyond him. He knew it had been a bad idea the first time Quatre had mentioned it, during the battle.

/ "Heero! We should go to the Sank Kingdom!"

"What? The _Sank_ Kingdom? Who, _us?_" /

Heero stilled cringed at how stupid a reply that had been. He'd answered his own questions with more questions! But then Noin had suddenly showed up carrying his Buster Rifle, and things had just gone from there. Now, Heero found himself not just AT the Sank Kingdom, but also a student at the academy. To make matters worse, he and Quatre were the ONLY male students there. Then the girl with the weird eyebrows had shown up...Dorothy Catalonia was her name, and she was related to Duke Dermail, which made her a suspicious character. Heero sighed and glanced towards the door. He'd been doing that a lot the past couple of minutes. He knew for a fact that the reason was only a few rooms away. SHE had been the main reason he hadn't wanted to come to the kingdom in the first place. He'd been ready to leave as soon as they'd arrived, the look SHE had given him when he'd exited the plane only increasing his desire to bolt. And yet, at the same time, it had been that look (A/N: You know the one, where Relena rests her chin on her fist and smirks up at Heero on the stairway ramp thingy with her eyebrow raised) that had caused his brain to cease functioning in the Perfect Soldier mode and allow his hormones to run wild. Thus, he had followed HER back to the palace like a mindless puppy following its owner. And now, here he was, lying on his bed restlessly, and hoping, despite himself, that SHE would sneak into his room like all those times before. As he glanced at the door AGAIN, it occurred to him that SHE wasn't coming.

Heero's eyes narrowed. She...Relena...was probably doing it purposely. Baiting him to go to HER room. It was probably a test or something. Heero flipped over on the bed again, clad in only his spandex, and buried his head under a pillow. He laid like that for a minute or so, before peeking out from under the pillow at the door again. Sighing exasperatedly, Heero sat up and brought his knees up to his chest, hugging them with his arms. He glared at the door, willing her to come. Nothing.

'Damn it!' Heero thought, punching the pillow next to him. 'This is so...pathetic! What is wrong with me!' He didn't need an answer to that. He could go weeks without seeing her and sleep fine, but with the knowledge that her room was only feet away, it was much more difficult. Heero tried closing his eyes and sleeping, but images of their previous nights together danced through his mind, doing nothing to help the situation. Cursing again, Heero opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. Minutes passed before Heero ripped the blankets off of him and stalked over to the door. He paused in front of it and glanced back at the clock. It was two in the morning; everyone would be asleep. Grabbing his standard green tank top off the floor, Heero threw it on and cracked open the door. There was no one in the hallway, but he could see a stream of light pouring out underneath Relena's doorway down the hall.

'Ahh, so she IS still up,' Heero thought as he crept down the hall to her room. Stopping in front of the door, he wrapped his knuckles against it softly. Hearing a quiet reply from inside, he pushed the door open and stepped in, closing it behind him. Heero glanced around the room and spotted Relena sitting in a reclining chair reading a book in the low lamplight. She looked up at him, and her eyes widened slightly. Heero did not miss the look of triumph that flickered in them briefly, and he scowled.

"Heero," Relena said in greeting. "What can I do for you?" she asked, pulling an air of innocence. Heero glared at her. "What?" she asked again, blinking her now wide eyes.

"Relena," Heero growled. Relena placed the book on her nightstand and stood up from the chair. Heero looked her over briefly; the red nightie she was wearing did nothing to help his situation. It was spaghetti-strapped with a low front, and went to about mid-thigh.

"Heero, it's two in the morning. What do you need?" Relena asked once more, casually walking over to him. He still didn't reply. "Nothing? Well, in that case, I'll be going to bed now. You know where the door is," Relena said, sauntering over to the bed. The big, extremely comfortable looking bed.

'Much better than the dorm room beds we were on before.' The thought flitted through Heero's mind suddenly, and he shook his head slightly to get away from the direction his subconscious was taking him. By this point, Relena had pulled back the covers on the bed and was staring at Heero. She sighed.

"You know Heero, you really shouldn't have worn spandex." Heero blinked, and felt his cheeks heat up. It didn't take a genius to figure out what she meant. He just crossed his arms, "hmphed," and turned away. Relena smirked at him. "Well?" she asked, sitting down on the bed. "What do you want?" Heero blinked. She had used her seductive voice. Once again, she was not helping the situation any. "No answer?" Relena fell back onto the bed. "Ok then, you can stand there all night." Relena smiled to herself as she heard soft footsteps coming across the room. Next to her, the mattress shifted beneath the weight Heero added when he kneeled down on the floor and folded his arms across the bed, staring at Relena. She rolled over so that she was facing him, and giving him a nice view down the front of her shirt. "WHAT do you WANT?" Relena asked again, leaning forward to capture Heero's mouth with her own. He eagerly returned the kiss, happy he hadn't had to say anything. Or so he thought, until Relena broke away and looked at him expectantly. He growled slightly. When Relena made no move, he replied.

"You," he whispered huskily, kissing Relena again. He felt her smile into the kiss.

"And...just what...do...you...want me...to do?" Relena asked in between kisses. Heero froze and looked up at her, eyes wide. Did she really expect him to say WHAT? Oh crap...she was smirking...evilly. He moved forward, hoping to distract her, but Relena only scooted backwards.

"Relena," Heero growled, advancing on her until he was fully on the bed.

"Yes Heero?" Relena asked innocently. He glared at her. "It's a simple question, Heero." He glared some more. "What? You can't say it?" He sat back and crossed his arms. Heero was caught totally by surprise when Relena lunged forward, capturing his lips again. So surprised was he, that he fell back on the bed totally, giving Relena the opportunity she was looking for. Grabbing his arms and holding them above his head, Relena straddled Heero's hips. He struggled briefly, but Relena leaned forward, putting her weight onto his arms to hold them there. "Say it," she commanded. Heero stubbornly shook his head. "Tell me what you want me to do." Relena brought one hand down and ran it along Heero's length through the spandex, causing him to shudder and squeeze his eyes shut. How did Relena always end up being the dominant one? "Tell me, Heero." He let out a shaky breath.

"No," was his reply. Relena moved her hand faster, and he gasped. "Just...do it...Relena!"

"Do what?"

"Damn...it, Relena...now!" Heero was just about to reach his release point when Relena removed her hand from him. His eyes shot open as he looked up at her, gasping for breath. "What...the hell!"

"I wasn't sure if you wanted me to finish it or not. You didn't tell me." Heero closed his eyes and grumbled something. "What was that?"

"I want...ugh, damn it! I want to have sex now! I can't take it anymore!" Heero half shouted at her, finding enough energy in himself to flip Relena over so he was the one on top. She blinked up at him, startled, and chuckled.

"Well, eager tonight, aren't we? Been too long?" Heero nodded, busying himself with burying his head in Relena's shoulder, nipping and kissing the skin there. "Heero, we can't do anything if we're both still fully dressed." Heero paused, then sat up and practically ripped his shirt off. Relena's nightie followed, and soon both were oblivious to the rest of the world.

& & & &

"Relena, are you sure you're ok?" Noin asked, leaning against the doorway of the bathroom where Relena was kneeling in front of the toilet, pouring the contents of her stomach into the bowl.

"I told you Ms. Noin, I'm fine," Relena said, sitting back from the toilet and wiping off her mouth with the back of her hand. "I just have a stomach flew or something." Noin raised an eyebrow.

"You've been throwing up like this for the past THREE days Relena," she stated. Relena glanced up at her.

"Fine," she replied exasperatedly, throwing her hands up in the air. "Fine! I'll call the hospital and arrange for a doctor's appointment." Noin smiled triumphantly.

"Do you want me to tell Pagan to do that for you?"

"No!" Relena shouted, startling Noin. "Ah, sorry, but no. I am quite capable of picking up a phone and making an appointment. I get kind of tired of people doing everything for me."

"Understood," Noin replied, backing up from the doorway. "Feeling better?" Relena blinked.

"Yeah, it's just like before. I feel absolutely fine now."

"That's odd."

"I know...well," she said, standing up. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go make that phone call." Relena disappeared from the room, Noin's eyes following her out.

Downstairs, Relena was looking up the number of the hospital she could call to make an appointment. She silently cheered triumphantly when she found it, and began punching numbers into the phone. Not long after, she was connected with the hospital.

"Hello?" Relena asked. "Is this the number that I can make appointments at?...Ok, thanks." She paused as they reconnected her. "Yes, hi, this is Relena Peacecraft-... ...yes, THAT Relena Peacecraft... ...Um, well I haven't been feeling well the past couple of days and I was wondering if I could just get a quick check-up?... ...Well I've been throwing up for the past three days-... ...No, not all day, usually when I just wake-up... ...If I could get the appointment as soon as possible it would be great... ...The 23rd! No, I need one soon!" Relena paled as she listened to the voice on the other end of the phone. "What do you mean the 23rd is tomorrow! It can't be!" she shouted, quickly grabbing her organizer. She flipped through, finding the date, and raised a hand up to her mouth as her eyes widened. "Wha- Oh, yes, I'm still here, sorry... ...yes, tomorrow would be great... ...at 10:30? Ok, great... ...Thank you... ...ok, bye," she finished faintly, still staring at the calendar in front of her. It couldn't possibly be the 23rd already! When had she lost track of the date?...Since Heero had arrived. Of course. Since he had been there, the two had been going at it like rabbits because they had no idea when they would be separated again. If it was the 23rd, then she was AT LEAST two weeks late. And if she was two weeks late, then that meant she had probably skipped it totally. And if she had skipped it, then...no, she didn't want to think what that might mean. Pushing the thought aside, Relena walked out of the room in search of Pagan or Noin to tell them about her appointment.

& & & &

Relena sighed to herself as she walked through the gardens of the palace. Her suspicions had been confirmed after the doctor's appointment. Well, she couldn't really say her "suspicions" because she hadn't suspected anything until the day she called the hospital, and even then she hadn't thought it was a possibility. In all actuality, it was VERY possible, seeing as she and Heero had never used any form of protection. It was just a major shock. She was only fifteen! Now she just had to find a way to tell Heero, she hadn't told anyone else yet. Relena frowned. She really had no idea how he would take the news. He would probably refrain from all further contact with her and have nothing to do with it. Or he might follow out on his previous promise, and kill her. She could worry about that later though. Right now, Relena's main concern was figuring out a way to inform Heero of the...situation. Walking into a clearing, she gasped quietly as she spotted Heero across the way, sitting on a bench reading. A quick glance around told her no one else was present. Relena sighed again and raked a hand through her hair. Running a hand down the sides of her school dress to smooth out any wrinkles, Relena let out a shaky breath.

'Well, now is as good a time as any to tell him,' she thought. 'At least he's alone.' Relena continued walking forward. As she neared him, it occurred to her that he was actually wearing his school uniform. Another glance confirmed that the book he was reading was the same one he had been reading the first night they had been together. Relena chuckled at that. 'All these months later and he still hasn't finished it. Poor boy.' A few seconds later, she was standing in front of him, and he still had taken no notice of her.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Relena asked. Heero finally glanced up at her.

"You can do whatever you want. It's your country," he said, looking back down at the book. Relena sighed and sat down.

"I guess you're right," she murmured. The conversation continued, with some pushing on her part, until she was pretty sure she was ready to tell him. He had just opened his mouth to say something, and she had just gathered enough courage, when a familiar, and unwanted at the moment, girl interrupted them.

"I just-" Heero started, finally looking at Relena. He stopped abruptly as he noticed Dorothy out of the corner of his eye. Relena sighed, aggravated. She just HAD to show up now of all times. However, Relena greeted her politely, and accepted the invitation she handed her from Romefeller. By that point, there was no hope in getting back to the conversation with Heero, so Relena let it drop for the moment. She would tell him later.

"Later" STILL had not occurred by the time Relena was leaving for the meeting. A feeling of panic fled through her as she started to climb into the limo. What if Heero left before she got the chance to tell him? Abruptly, Relena turned back around to the two boys standing on the balcony above her. Heero was regarding her with disinterest, though his intense stare was following her every move, and Quatre was looking on with worry.

"Heero!" Relena called out. He said nothing, not that she had expected a reply. "Promise me you won't leave without telling me first!" she shouted up at him. There was a pause, and then Heero nodded slowly. Satisfied with that, Relena turned and crawled into the limo.

& & & &

Relena did not see Heero again for several days. The meeting with Romefeller had gone better than she'd expected. She was, of course, oblivious of the fact that while she had been talking about keeping the peace, Heero had been off fighting in a battle where there was a slim chance of survival on his part. However, Heero HAD survived, he didn't know if that was good or bad, and he had brought another mobile suit back to the pacifist nation. Relena didn't know about that either. She DID know that she had to tell Heero the news, and she had to tell him NOW. She walked determinedly to his room late one night, after everyone else had gone to bed. She paused in front of the closed door for only a brief second, then brought up her hand and knocked. It was a few seconds before she got an answer, and she heard some shuffling from inside. The door cracked open, and then opened fully as Heero confirmed who it was.

"What do you need?" he asked gruffly.

"Ms. Relena?" another voice asked from inside before Relena could answer. Relena peered around Heero.

"Quatre?" she asked, in the same tone of voice. She was suddenly glad she had worn pajama pants and a tank top to bed tonight. Heero rolled his eyes and gently pulled her into the room, shutting the door behind her.

"You both are too loud," he stated matter-of-factly. Both blondes whispered a small apology.

"What are you doing here Ms. Relena?" Quatre asked. Relena blushed slightly and unconsciously put a hand on her stomach.

"Ah...well, I had to tell Heero something, and please, just call me Relena. Why are you here?" He didn't answer right away. "Oh, sorry, it's probably none of my business-"

"No it's ok," Quatre cut in. "I asked you the same thing."

"You're not leaving, are you?" Relena asked, worry flooding through her. Quatre smiled and shook his head.

"Not if we can help it. I think this is the best place for us to be right now, if it's ok with you that is."

"Oh, it's fine that you stay here!" Relena said quickly, stealing a glance at Heero who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "I only wish I could help you more."

"You've done more than enough, what with helping on the search for Trowa and all." Relena waved a hand dismissively.

"That's the least I could do," she said. It was quiet for a minute before Quatre got the idea that he should probably leave.

"Well, Heero, we'll talk about this later?" he asked, glancing in the Japanese youth's direction. Heero nodded an affirmative. "Ok, I'll leave you two alone then, so Relena can tell you what she needed to," Quatre glanced at the clock, "at 1:45 in the morning," he finished. Relena blushed a little more while Heero glared at Quatre. The blonde smirked. "Good night," he called, walking out of the room. Once he was gone, Relena looked nervously at Heero.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't know he was in here. I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation." Heero said nothing and Relena began to fidget under his gaze. Heero's eyes narrowed and he pushed himself off the wall and walked over to Relena. Standing in front of her, he scrutinized her appearance even more, and she shrank back slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, surprising Relena with the soft tone he used. She glanced up at him and walked over to the desk in the room.

"I have to tell you something," she said, playing around with one of the pens on the desk. She wouldn't meet his eyes. "You, uh, you might want to sit down," Relena said, stalling. She gestured to the chair.

"I'll stand."

"No, I think you should sit."

"I said I'd stand. Now what's wrong?" Relena sighed and raked a hand through her hair. She walked over to the bed and plopped down on it. Where had all her courage gone? A few quiet minutes passed before Heero spoke again. "Relena," he said, uncrossing his arms. "You're starting to worry me. Just say it!" Relena jumped slightly, and swallowed.

"Uh, well Heero," she started, looking at the carpet. "I'm...well, you see...I...because we never, um...I...ugh!" Relena threw her hands up and jumped off of the bed. She began pacing in front of Heero, one hand resting on her abdomen. Heero sighed and crossed his arms again.

"I'm waiting." Whatever she had to say must be important.

"I know! I know, I just...I'm trying to think of how to tell you...I...I don't know how you'll react..." Relena still wouldn't look him in the face.

"Well you'll never find out unless you tell me." She still said nothing. "This is starting to get annoying," Heero stated.

"I'm trying!"

"Just tell me exactly. I don't need a long story." Relena nodded.

"Heero...I'm...we...we're going to have...I'M going to have...a...well...see, I'm kind of...well, not kind of...I AM..." Relena stopped pacing finally. Squaring her shoulders and taking a deep breath, she turned to face Heero who was watching her with carefully guarded curiosity and worry. She looked him straight in the eye and said, "Heero...I'm pregnant."

Yeah, he probably should have sat down.

* * *

Bwahaha, pregnant. Wow. I'm such a spaz, I swear. Sometimes I don't understand the way my mind works. :)

-Maxine


	5. Chapter 5

Behind the Scenes with Heero and Relena - Chapter 5

lol, I actually remember the episode title of this one! Well, I mean it's still the Sank Kingdom episodes, but the end of the chapter takes place duing 'The Birth of Queen Relena.' :)

* * *

For the first time he could actually remember, Heero's guard totally dropped. His arms fell limp at his sides and his jaw dropped slightly. His slightly widened eyes blinked one, twice, then three times.

"Y-you're what?" he asked. If it had been at any other time, Relena probably would have laughed at the way he looked.

"I'm pregnant," Relena replied meekly. Heero took a step back, the information finally sinking in. His eyes widened even further. Suddenly, he gave his head a slight shake, and made an attempt to get his features back to normal.

"It's mine?" Relena's eyes hardened for a moment.

"No, you're the fifth person I've ever slept with, so it could be anyone of the other guys'," she replied sarcastically. How could he possibly ask something like that?

"What are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?" Relena asked worriedly. She didn't like the way he had said "it."

"Well...you can't keep it," Heero said bluntly.

"And why not?"

"Relena...you just...can't. I'm not at all ready to be a...f-father." Heero paused for a second, looking a little surprised at the father part. "There's a war going on," he continued. "You're the leader of a country, I'm a Gundam pilot. You don't a time for a kid."

"I will NOT get an abortion, Heero. That is completely out of the question."

"Well, if you're expecting me to hang around, you can forget about it. I don't have time to raise a child."

"The baby won't be born for about eight months, Heero. M-maybe the war will be over by then," Relena suggested. Heero looked at her doubtfully. "Look Heero, you were right when you said I'm the leader of nation. A PACIFIST nation. There's no way I can kill an innocent life, it would be completely against my beliefs. And what if someone found out? How would that look? I'm supposed to be a role model for little kids!"

"It's extremely unlikely that anyone would find out if you went about it the right way. However, if you decide to keep it, then everyone WILL know, and I don't want anyone to know I'm the father." Relena's eyes almost filled up with tears at that, but she was determined not to cry in front of him.

"I am not getting an abortion Heero," she whispered fiercely. Heero looked at her coldly.

"Fine," he said. "Fine! But like I said, don't expect me to be there for you."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Relena answered coldly. "Now get out. I don't want to talk to you anymore," she said, pointing to the door. She turned away slightly so Heero couldn't see the look on her face. He only gazed at her for a second, before turning on his heel and stalking out the door. Relena heard the door shut, and choked back a sob. She slowly lowered herself to a sitting position on the bed as the tears started to fall down her face. She'd barely made it all the way down, when the door flew open again. Glancing up, Relena saw the silhouette of Heero in the doorway, and a glimmer of hope went through her. "What do you want?"

"...This is my room," Heero answered. Relena blinked and looked at the floor.

"Right, you're room, in MY palace," Relena muttered, but she stood up and headed for the door anyway. Heero, however, didn't move from his spot in the doorway. "Did you want me to leave or not?" Relena asked, getting frustrated. Heero sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"Look Relena, I didn't mean to make you mad. I just don't think it would be wise to have a baby during times like these. And we're only fifteen!" Relena glared at Heero out of the corner of her eye.

"I will not kill this baby because of a mistake that I made." She didn't miss the hurt that passed over Heero's face for a brief second.

"So now I'm a mistake?" he asked coldly.

"You weren't a mistake, no," Relena said, turning to face him fully. "Not ever using protection? That was a mistake. Not ever paying attention to the fact that I could get pregnant? Mistake. Not realizing that if by chance I DID get pregnant, you wouldn't take responsibility for it? Mistake. Actually," she gave a short laugh that held no humor, "this is pretty much entirely my fault. I went to YOU first. Lord knows what I was thinking that night." Relena looked at him once more, and walked out the door. "Goodbye, Heero."

"Don't you mean good night?" Heero asked quickly. Then he blinked, berating himself for sounding desperate like that. Relena didn't answer, and continued to her room. Heero watched her until her door was shut, and then finally walked back into his own room. He sighed deeply, shutting his eyes. When they opened again, they were filled with their usual coldness. "Fine," he said to no one. "It's not like I need her. This just gives me all the more reason to finally kill her." Filled with this new determination, Heero crawled into bed. He didn't fall asleep for a while though.

& & & &

Life continued, but Heero didn't see Relena much more during his stay at the Sank Kingdom, and they didn't speak to each other at all. It wasn't until the day that Relena surrendered her kingdom to Romefeller that he got to actually say something to her. Actually, it wasn't much of a conversation, but he had run into her, literally, while turning a corner. She'd said excuse me, he'd said sorry, and that was about it. Later though, he couldn't get her image out of his mind and began fighting wildly in Epyon, which didn't help any because the mobile suit kept showing him Relena's face. When he heard that she'd gone with them, he was torn between going after them to save her and going there to kill her. Either way, he ended up going after them. He kept telling himself it was to finally kill her.

A few days later, Heero found himself dressed in a Romefeller uniform, hidden in the shadows of a balcony in the room where Relena was giving her speech. His eyes were filled with a coldness that had gone on vacation during his stay at the Sank Kingdom. In a way, he was almost glad to have the feeling back, because he'd been slacking off during his missions. Plus, it was the one thing he knew would probably never change, and he could always fall back on it in desperate situations. Unlike the woman below him, currently the "Queen of the World." Heero frowned. Against his will, his eyes kept traveling down to glance at her lower abdomen. Though he was trying incredibly hard to forget the fact that she was pregnant, somewhere in the back of his mind he was utterly amazed that there was another PERSON growing inside of her. At some point in his life, he had been just like that, tiny and vulnerable. And one day, the being inside of Relena would be big enough to pilot a Gundam. As soon as the thought reached his mind, Heero squelched it.

'Nope,' he thought. 'Not this one. This one's never going to become big enough to pilot a Gundam because it's going to be dead by the end of her speech.' Along with her, added another part of his mind. Then a particularly annoying voice spoke up in the back of his mind.

_You're not serious, right? You aren't really going to kill her?_

'Why shouldn't I? She's only a danger to the mission,' Heero spoke back, in his mind of course.

_Pfft. WHAT mission?_

'... Any mission. Every time I try to fight, she's always there. I can't do anything in Zero without that damn suit showing me her face.'

_So...if you kill her, then that will end?_

'Hopefully. Then I might be able to concentrate a little more.'

_You mean the guilt won't distract you?_ Heero growled silently.

'There won't BE any guilt. I WANT to do this.'

_Yeah, suuuure. Well, what about your child? You have no reason to kill it._

'It's Relena's child, and it's not my fault it happens to be inside of her.'

_Heh, you do realize how incredibly wrong that is, right? I mean, it takes two to tango. If it weren't for you, she wouldn't BE pregnant._

'...She came to me first.'

_And you could have easily stopped her._

'It would have attracted too much attention.'

_I'm not saying you had to kill her!_

'What else would I have done?'

_Shown her the way out._

'Yeah, like she would have listened.'

_Face it, Heero. You WANTED to do it that night._

'I did not! She forced me into it!'

_...Forced you into it? Okaaay...you're fighting a losing battle here._

'Oh geez. I'm arguing with myself. This is an all-time low.' Despite himself, Heero felt his cheeks heat up a little. 'What would Dr. J say if he saw me now?' he asked himself.

_You don't want to know._

'Go away!'

_Fine, be that way. But if I were you, which I am, I definitely would NOT kill Relena. Ciao!_

Heero shook his head, wondering if he'd seriously gone insane. And unless he was imagining it, that annoying voice had a surprising likeness to Duo's. Glancing back down at the podium again, he had to suppress a groan. She was STILL talking. How could anyone sit through these diplomatic speeches? Was anyone even listening to her? Heero's eyes wandered down to Relena's stomach again. She wasn't beginning to show yet, which was a given because she wasn't even two months pregnant.

Heero's eyes narrowed as he noticed Relena's speech was winding down. He removed a gun from his holster, and clicked the safety off. Below him, Relena finally stopped talking, so Heero raised his arm and steadily held the gun in her direction. She was looking around everywhere while Heero was trying to get his aim right, and as if on instinct, Relena glanced up towards the balcony. A jolt went through Heero as their eyes connected briefly. All of a sudden he wanted to hide the gun behind his back and smile at her, sort of like a child getting caught with his hand in a cookie jar. He quickly erased the image from his mind.

'Oh God,' Relena thought, looking Heero directly in the eye. 'He's really going to do it this time. If I won't get rid of the baby, then he will. And he'll dispose of me while doing it...killing two birds with one stone.' Relena sighed. Breaking eye contact with him, she lowered her head down. The audience in front of her had yet to react to her speech, and she was beginning to consider herself a total failure...until that one, kind person began clapping. Others soon followed, and in no time, Relena had received a standing ovation, effectively saving her life.

'I WILL go through with this,' Heero thought. His arm was beginning to waver from holding the gun for so long. 'I...I can do it. I will...' Heero closed his eyes briefly.

_You're killing your own child._ Heero's eyes shot open. That damn voice again. _Poor thing never had the chance to live. You'll be ending its life before it began. What did it ever do to you?_ Heero managed to ignore the voice; he'd noticed that Relena wasn't looking at him anymore.

'Fine. She doesn't want to watch me kill her? Well I don't want to see her die.' With that, Heero closed his eyes again, and tightened his finger on the trigger. 'Come on. One quick pull and it'll be over.' He began to pull the trigger just slightly, when people in the audience began clapping. Heero's eyes opened, and his shocked look mirrored Relena's for a brief second. 'They...they actually like her?... Well, I guess she doesn't need to die right away. If I killed her now it would attract too much attention anyway.' Heero quickly re-holstered his gun, and walked out of the balcony so he wouldn't be caught.

_I knew you wouldn't go through with it_.

'Shut up.'

_That woman has you wrapped around her finger_. Heero growled at himself. That stupid voice was right. Despite how often he'd tried to, he'd never been able to kill her. _And you probably never will!_ added the annoying voice gleefully. Heero sighed.

'...probably true...' Heero smirked suddenly. 'Well, we'll see. It wasn't such a great idea to kill her in front of so many people anyway. I'll have to do it the next time I see her alone.'

_You're crazy. It's never going to happen._

'Hn...'

'Wha...I'm still alive?' Relena thought, looking out at the people applauding her. She quickly turned her eyes upwards, but Heero had already left. A small smile formed on her face. 'He didn't kill me after all.' Unconsciously, a hand rested on her stomach, and her smile grew.

* * *

Aack! The conversation Heero has with himself! WTF was that? Hehe, whatever. Two parts of this fic left!

-Maxine


	6. Chapter 6

Behind the Scenes with Heero and Relena -Chapter 6

Alrighty, this episode takes place toward the end of the series, when Relena is on Libra and Heero goes to save her.

* * *

Heero and Relena didn't see each other for a while after the would-be assassination attempt. Treize removed Relena from her position as Queen of the World, while Heero joined up with the other pilots on Peacemillion. With all that was happening between White Fang, the colonies, Zechs, and everything else, the two didn't have much time to think about their counterparts. Heero had managed to block most of the events that had transpired between them out of his mind, focusing instead on battling Libra. It wasn't until Hilde had brought information about Relena being on Libra that Heero's memories of the not-so-distant past resurfaced.

/ Duo walked slowly down the corridor away from the hospital wing. Hilde had just given him some interesting news, and it only added to the stress he'd been feeling lately. Not only was Hilde badly hurt, but Relena was actually ON Libra. Great, just wonderful. Duo was rendered helpless to help those close to him yet again. He hadn't seen Relena since that time they'd gone to the carnival, but he still considered her a good friend. However, he wasn't about to leave Hilde's side just yet, so that meant someone else would have to do the rescuing. Duo quickened his pace as he saw the person he was looking for leaning against the wall up ahead.

"Hey, Heero," Duo said, coming to stand in front of the pilot. Heero continued scrutinizing the floor, but Duo continued anyway. "Relena Peacecraft's onboard Libra," he said, pronouncing her name with a little extra stress to get Heero's attention. It worked.

"Hn?" Heero grunted looking up sharply with slightly wide eyes. Duo resisted the urge to smirk and make a smart comment.

"Yeah, Hilde said she met her there." That was all Heero needed to hear. With no clear idea of what he was doing, he immediately set off for the hangar where Wing Zero was. He stood in front of the gargantuan machine, glaring up at it in thought. As if suddenly making a decision, he turned abruptly and climbed into one of the space shuttles instead. Before he could change his mind, he took off. /

Heero found himself walking quickly down a hallway towards where Relena was supposedly being held hostage. Every so often he glanced around warily to make sure no one had noticed him, and his right hand was always resting on his gun.

'Why am I doing this?' Heero asked himself, taking a left turn towards his destination. 'How can I let her get to me like this? I would be better off with her dead, wouldn't I?' It must have been the fifty-fifth time he'd asked himself that, but he never could get a clear response. Heero's eyes narrowed. 'In the words of Wufei, I am SUCH a weakling.' Coming to the door he was looking for, he paused, and then slowly punched in the code on the number pad.

Inside, Relena was looking out the window sullenly, one hand resting unconsciously on her abdomen. She let out a deep sigh and leaned forward until her forehead was touching the cool glass.

"Heero..." she murmured, just as the door behind her slid open. "Go away," she said strongly, lifting her head and glaring out at the black space through the window. "I have nothing to say to anyone except for my brother. I wish you would just leave me alone."

"I can't do that," an extremely familiar voice said from behind her. Whirling around, Relena stared in shock at the intruder.

"I-I hadn't expected you to come for me, Heero," she choked out.

"Noin and the others were feeling uneasy with you still here," Heero said, somehow managing not to wince as he spoke the lame and incredibly wrong reason he was there. Did anyone other than Duo even know she was here? And he was almost certain Relena didn't believe him anyway, especially when she smirked a little.

'The others? Pfft, yeah right.' The thought flitted through her head as Relena looked in wonder at the boy before her. He turned away abruptly though, and headed for the door.

"Come on," Heero said. Relena was about to follow him when she remembered something.

"Wait!" she called, reaching out a hand as if to stop him. "I still have to talk to my..." she trailed off. Brother? It was still such a foreign thought to her, but Heero seemed to know what she was talking about anyway.

"You mean Zechs?" he asked, and Relena frowned slightly at the name. "Do what you want. I have to see him too." He continued out of the room. Relena pulled back her hand and smiled at his retreating back before hurrying to catch up.

They made their way silently through the halls, and it wasn't exactly a comfortable silence that surrounded them. The air was filled with a tension so thick you could cut a knife with it (A/N: Bleh, that line is so cliché). Heero kept glancing at Relena out of the corner of his eye when he thought she wasn't looking. His eyes would often drift down to her stomach, before lifting sharply back up and glaring straight ahead. Relena, who had noticed every time he glanced over, finally got fed up with it.

"What?" she whispered irritably, careful to keep her voice low in the eerily empty hallways.

"Hn?" was the reply she got.

"I'm not blind, Heero. I can tell you're looking at me, or glaring at me or something." She stopped walking abruptly so that Heero turned around to face her.

"Relena, come on. If we stay here long they might notice you're gone and they'll come looking for you," he said, trying to keep a deadpan face and expression. Relena crossed her arms stubbornly. Heero sighed slightly and walked towards her. He reached out a hand to grab her arm, but she snatched it out of the way and began moving forward again. Heero only stared at her back for a few seconds before striding to catch up with her. What was it with women and their peculiar mood swings? It was quiet again, and this time it was Heero who got uncomfortable with the silence. It was so strange standing next to her, for some reason. She was supposedly pregnant with his child - HIS child! - but you couldn't even tell yet, as far as he could tell. Of course, Heero had no idea what a pregnant woman was supposed to look like during the early stages. Clearing his throat slightly, Heero finally spoke up.

"How is everything?" he asked softly, causing the blonde to jump a little. She glanced at him nervously to find that he watching her steadily under that subtle glare of his.

"Um...well," Relena stuttered incoherently. Heero paused mid-step.

"Is something wrong?" he asked worriedly, eyes slightly wide.

"No! No, nothing's wrong at all, it's just that...well...I'm not pregnant anymore. Actually, I don't know if-"

"What!" Heero exclaimed softly, glancing around to make sure they were alone. "What happened? I thought you weren't going to get an...abortion..." He looked away guiltily, thinking it was his fault, like he'd actually convinced her to go through with it. For some reason, he felt incredibly...sad. Or disappointed. It was weird.

"Heero, you interrupted me, sweetheart," Relena said sarcastically. "If you'd let me finish..."

"Sorry," Heero mumbled, giving her his full attention again.

"It's ok. Well, for starters, I did NOT get an abortion. But...I didn't exactly have a miscarriage either. I don't think I was ever pregnant to begin with." Heero blinked.

"Huh?" Relena smiled a little.

"Well, there was a mix-up of files or something at the hospital. In short, I got the results of someone else. Which means that somewhere in the Sank Kingdom there's a poor lady who's going to be gaining weight for an unknown reason. I mean, imagine my shock when I thought I was pregnant, and then suddenly I get my period! I didn't know what was going on!" Relena laughed.

"I didn't need to know that," Heero monotoned, causing Relena's peals of laughter to get even stronger. When she finally calmed down, she spoke again.

"I'm very relieved, but...disappointed at the same time." Slowly she reached down and took Heero's hand with her own, intertwining their fingers. Heero just watched their hands. "I know we're only fifteen, but I would have...I would have liked to have your baby," Relena said quietly, looking into Heero's eyes as he lifted his head sharply. He stared back in silent shock, before blinking and fidgeting nervously under her gaze. Relena smiled a small smile, and slightly tugged on Heero's hand to get him walking again. They didn't speak for a few minutes, as Heero tried to puzzle out what he should say.

"Relena," he started, and then paused. "Relena, I..." He stopped again, before ceasing his walking all together. Relena just looked at him expectantly. "Look, there's going to be a-a battle soon, and...I don't know if...if..." He gave up, and settled for looking her in the eyes. She seemed to understand something, because her eyes widened. Heero took the chance, and leaned down to capture her lips with his. It took Relena a second to respond because of her slight shock, but soon she was kissing him back. Several minutes later (A/N: hehe ), they broke apart.

"Come on," Heero spoke first. "We need to get moving." Relena stumbled after him.

The rest of their time on Libra was a blur to Relena. They finally spoke to Zechs, only to discover it was a hologram, and were soon on their way back to Peacemillion. There were a few problems along the way, such as Libra getting attacked. But during that, Heero managed to prove how much he actually cared for Relena, by protecting her from the falling debris around them. It was something Relena would never forget. They had just gotten back, when Heero suddenly decided to leave again. And he was saying he might not return. Not something Relena was willing to deal with. But after only a brief argument, she found herself watching Heero fly off, and she was powerless to stop him. Even when she tried to go after him, the rest of the crew held her back. It wasn't fair really. No one, except maybe Duo, who wasn't there, understood what she felt for Heero. They thought it was a silly high school crush. Hell, half of them thought she was stalking the poor boy. She may have gone to the extremes in trying to get Heero's attention, but Relena was no stalker. Her adoptive mother (A/N: Whatever happened to that woman!) had tried hard to get her to stay home, but it was useless. And now she had to sit around and do nothing as the boy she liked and cared for - loved maybe? - was fighting her own BROTHER. It really was NOT fair.

After several horribly stressful hours, some spent visiting Hilde in the hospital wing, Relena watched in absolute horror as Heero attempted to stop the last piece of Libra from hitting the Earth. She couldn't remember a time in her life that she had ever been that on edge or worried about someone. Before her eyes she watched the explosion, and waited, holding her breath, for Wing Zero to emerge. When it finally did, tears were threatening to spill from her eyes. Relena was the first to the docking bay, awaiting Heero's arrival.

During his battle with Zechs, Heero could not get the image of Relena out of his mind. It was worse than it had ever been before. Hell, he'd even let Zechs live for her sake! Or maybe it was because he was just plain tired of killing people. Either way, the battle proved to be pointless, as neither side won. Well, Zechs had SUPPOSEDLY died, but Heero a sneaking suspicion that he was still alive somewhere, somehow. He hadn't dwelled on it, because the job wasn't done yet. The entire battle on their side would have been utterly meaningless if that part of Libra hit Earth. So, with what little will power he had left in his exhausted mind and body, Heero put himself in harm's way, DEATH'S way, to literally save the world. And the one thing that kept him going...was Relena.

/ Heero grunted as the atmosphere around him began to tear away at his Gundam. He didn't know how much longer it would hold out.

'Maybe I should just give up,' he thought wearily. 'Damn it all to hell. I'd be free of this Perfect Soldier persona. Of course, I'd be dead... And what about the Earth? All those people...' Heero sighed, weighing the choices, when a picture of Relena appeared in his mind. She was smiling slightly through the early morning sunrays, her hair spread out around her. The blanket she was sleeping under was low enough to partially reveal her unclothed chest. Heero blinked. Where the hell had THAT come from? He paused to think about it for a second when his Gundam suddenly shook violently, bringing him back to his senses. Decision made, Heero started firing up his buster rifle. A huge beam shot forth from it, slowly disintegrating the massive block above him. He could almost feel his Gundam falling apart as it began to heat up inside the cockpit.

"...I will..." he grunted, trying to hold the gun steady. "I will..." Damn it was hot. "I WILL..." Heero gave the gun one last boost as he shouted out, "I WILL SURVIVE!" He almost blacked out for a second as the block finally broke apart and crumbled away, the small debris dissolving in the atmosphere. He had succeeded. He'd SUCCEEDED, and to top it off, he was alive. "Heh, mission accomplished," he said out loud, for once feeling proud of himself. Without a second thought, he flew off towards Peacemillion. /

As soon as Heero stepped/stumbled out of his Gundam, cheers erupted from around the docking bay. Relena ran forward, and without even thinking threw her arms around the tired boy. Heero could only cling to her, burying his face in her flowery smelling hair. There was an unnatural sting in his eyes, but he held back any sort of tears that threatened to fall. He was too strong for that. Eventually, the young couple noticed that it had gone almost silent in the room. Heero was the first to notice it, and he stiffened involuntarily in Relena's grasp. She caught on almost immediately, stepping away to give him space, still smiling at him through her watery eyes. She too refused to cry in front of so many people. Duo came to their rescue, rushing forward and slinging an arm around each of their shoulders.

"So, guys, how's it goin'? 'Lena, haven't seen you in a while, how ya been?" Relena laughed.

"I'm fine, Duo. You?"

"Just great. Worried as hell about Hilde though."

"Oh, YOU'RE the pilot she knew! I should have guessed." Relena chuckled some more, as Duo led them off to whatever party was awaiting them.

The three hung around together, occasionally mingling with the other pilots. It wasn't much of a party or anything, just a small get-together with champagne, well, non-alcoholic champagne, courtesy of Quatre. At some point during the night, Relena and Duo headed off to the hospital wing to see how Hilde was doing. When they returned, Heero had disappeared.

& & & &

Four weeks later, Vice Foreign Minister Dorlain was on her way back to Earth from a meeting she had just had. Her birthday was coming up again, which meant it had been about a year since she had a met Heero. Heero... Relena sighed. She hadn't seen him since the day of the battle with Libra. It was beginning to worry her, but Heero could take care of himself. Of course, that's not what Relena was worried about...

'What if I never see him again?' she thought, making her way down the aisle of the space shuttle. She smiled slightly, remembering all the things they had done together over the past year. They definitely had a strange relationship. Who knew one of the best pick-up lines could be "omae o korosu?"

"S'cuse me," one of the shuttle helpers said as he brushed past her.

"That's fine," Relena said absently, still reminiscing. She finally got to her seat, but before she could sit down, she gasped. It seemed her seat was already taken...by a teddy bear. And...there was a note with it? Relena quickly picked it up and scanned it to see who it was from. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the quick-written scrawl of...Heero! (A/N: Duh...)

Relena,  
I'll see you again soon. Don't come looking for me. I need some time. We WILL meet again.  
- Heero P.S. Happy Birthday!

Four, five short sentences. That was more than enough for Relena. And he'd even remembered her birthday! Relena smiled widely. That man she'd bumped into must have delivered the bear and card. Wait... Her eyes widened. There was a certain unruly mess of brown hair under that hat that she recognized. Quickly looking out the window, Relena smiled in relief when she immediately spotted Heero slowly walking away.

'Shouldn't have done that,' Heero chastised himself. 'Now you HAVE to go back to see her. Well, it's not like I said WHEN we would see each other again. Well, I did say soon, didn't I? Shit...' Heero sighed. 'But that's ok. The war's over. I can live normally now. Or...attempt to anyway. I wonder where I should go-' His thoughts were interrupted by a cry from behind him.

"Heero!" Relena called, desperately trying to get his attention. He turned around slowly.

'Great, she saw me,' Heero thought nervously. 'Now what?' Relena smiled and held up the letter he written her. Heero raised an eyebrow. Both his eyes widened though, when she suddenly ripped the card down the center.

"Next time, hand it to me in person," was all she said, still smiling. Heero smiled slightly too, remembering when he'd ripped up her invitation. When she made no more comments, he turned back around and continued walking, this time more at ease with the future. Behind him, Relena's smile softened.

"Just don't be gone long, Heero," she said quietly.

She didn't see him for almost a year.

* * *

One chapter left!

-Maixne


	7. Chapter 7

Behind the Scenes with Heero and Relena - Chapter 7

This last part takes place during and after Endless Waltz. Enjoy!

* * *

It took a while for Heero to remember exactly where he was and what had happened. When he came to, he found himself lying on something soft and warm. His first thought was that he was on a bed, but then he realized that only his head was resting on something soft and the rest of his body was curled up on cold, hard ground. Groaning softly he opened his eyes a bit a looked up. After his eyes finally focused, he found himself staring into the face of Relena. If anyone looked him in the eyes at that moment, they would have seen pure confusion. However, that passed quickly when Heero reasoned that if he was able to see Relena's face from this view, then he must have been lying on her chest, or his head was anyway. That thought caused his body to stiffen, and after he tried to sit up a little too quickly, he winced in pain. Above him, Relena jumped slightly in shock before looking down at him.

"Oh gosh, Heero, you scared me half to death! I hadn't realized you had woken up, are you ok?" she asked worriedly. Heero scrambled away from her, and tried to stand up again. After getting to his feet, he spoke to her.

"I have to go, Relena," he said coldly, but with a bit of regret. He was already edging to the door. Relena's eyes widened and immediately started to fill up with tears.

"Wait Heero, why?" she asked, trying to get to her feet to go after him.

"Don't Relena. Just stay there. I need to go."

"But when will I see you again? You can't just run off and think I'll forget about you! Please come back!" Relena pleaded as he rushed out the door without answering her question. The last she heard from him was a quiet goodbye. Relena choked back her sobs. It was the first time she'd seen him in way too long, and he had to leave again. But right now was not the time to start crying. People needed her help. She turned back to the doctors currently helping Mariemaia, and tried to see if there was anything she could do.

& & & &

Several days later, things had seemingly gone back to normal. Relena had already had several meetings she had attended, and she was currently giving one of her oh-so-famous peace speeches to yet another group of people who would probably forget everything she said as soon as they left. It was so aggravating at times, and the extra worry she carried with her about a certain Gundam pilot wasn't helping. She hadn't seen him since he had run off, but she always had a feeling he wasn't too far away. Truth be told, he was currently only a few feet away, watching Relena give her speech from the balcony.

'Déjà vu.' Thought Heero. 'Only, the last time I was in this position, I was pointing a gun at her.' He watched her for a little while longer, before turning to leave. She seemed so confident. She actually had a life to lead, and a very important one at that. 'She doesn't need me.' Heero thought remorsefully. 'She'll forget about me in no time and find someone better, like she deserves.' Down at the podium, something caught Relena's eye. Stopping mid-sentence in her speech, something she usually considered totally unacceptable, Relena looked up to the balcony above her. She only saw it for a second, but she was certain that she had just seen a certain green shirt disappear from view, and the curtain was still swaying back and forth from the movement.

"Uh..." Relena stuttered, trying to start up her speech again. "And in con-conclusion...I...I would like to say that...ah, peace is very fragile, and we should try our best to preserve it," she finished quickly, before turning and sprinting off the stage. She ran right into Pagan.

"Miss Relena! What's wrong? Why didn't you finish your speech?"

"Pagan, something very important has come up, and I would greatly appreciate it if you would tell the audience that I apologize for leaving so abruptly, but I won't be able to continue tonight." With that, Relena ran out the back exit.

& & & &

Outside, Heero walked under the stars. There was a clear sky, and the moon bathed him with it's light. He didn't notice it though. He wasn't even watching where he was going. There was a lot on his mind, so Heero just walked along contemplating his life.

'Ha, that's a joke. What life? I don't know how to live a normal life...I've never had to. It's not like anyone cares. The only thing everyone really cares about is that the war is over. Hopefully it's over for good this time, if another one starts, I don't have my Gundam to fight with. No one cares though, I fought for the people, won that damn war for them, and now they'll forget I ever existed. I should have self-destructed when I had the chance. Actually I did self-destruct, didn't I? ...It's all Relena's fault. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have fought with that nagging feeling that I had to come back because she needed me. I could have fought hard, died doing it, and no one would have cared.'

"Well, that's not true, I guess some people would have cared." Heero spoke to the air around him. "Duo might have...He's the only true friend I have, he and the other pilots, if you want to call them friends," he continued quietly. "Relena would have cared..." he whispered. Suddenly, he realized what he was doing. "Great, so now I'm talking to myself. Now I'm going to break and fall apart because the war is over. I'll probably go insane...after war insanity," Heero mumbled, rubbing one hand across his eyes. "God I'm so confused." 'Well that's new, confused? Actually it's not. I've been confused a lot since I met Relena, and happy, nervous, scared...I don't even know what those mean, Dr. J didn't want me to feel anything.' He thought scornfully. 'He failed there though, didn't he? I've been scared, and it wasn't even during battle.' His thoughts drifted back to a year or so earlier, and he stopped walking abruptly. 'Oh wow, if Relena HAD been pregnant, I'd be a father right now...I almost regret it. No, not almost, I do regret it. That would give me something to do...be a father. Yeah right, like I could ever do that successfully. But still...I would have ruined her image though; she'd be a mother out of wedlock. Man, I think that's the most scared I've ever been.'

Heero started walking slowly again. He suddenly felt this strange urge to cry. 'Cry? Oh come on, you can't be weak like that. What would the others think, especially Wufei?' He tried to laugh at that thought, but it came out totally wrong. It sounded more like a choked sob. Heero could feel the tears building up, and he hastily rubbed his hands against his eyes again. His mind drifted back to the others. 'At least they all had somewhere to go.' That brought another thought to mind, and he stopped walking again. "Where exactly am I going?" Heero asked the air. "I have no where to go, and no one will want to house a former soldier. Oh wonderful, there I go with this talking to myself business again. God, what did I do to deserve this? ...Kill hundreds of people, that's what I did," he mumbled. The urge to cry became even stronger. 'I won't! I will not cry, come on, not now. Be strong. I don't think I've ever cried before...Bullshit, I know that's not true.' However, despite all he'd been through, Heero could not remember one time he had actually cried. Sure there were times when he was little, but that was too long ago to remember any other time had been blocked out by his mind. 'It made me weak, I wasn't aloud to cry...'

Heero looked down at his feet. "Why the hell am I walking so slow?" he asked himself. Well that was a no-brainer. "She's not coming, Yuy. She won't run after you like this is some romance novel or movie. Walk faster," he commanded himself. His feet didn't listen. Despite himself, he looked back over his shoulder. There was no one there. 'Duh, did you think she would come? She didn't even know you were there. You could have at least left her a note...or another teddy bear.' Heero chuckled with dry irony, and choked back another sob. 'I won't-' He stopped suddenly again. Had someone just called out his name? Heero listened for a minute, but he didn't hear anything else. 'Great, now my training's failing me. I'm really going to crack, I'm starting to hear things.' He heard it again however. A very familiar voice, screaming out his name. 'Don't get your hopes up Yuy.' He told himself as he turned around. "...Relena!" Heero was barely able to get the word out before he was tackled to the ground by a sobbing mass, which turned out to be none other than Relena.

"Heero!" she cried into his chest. "You are such a jerk, did you think that you could just leave? Without even saying goodbye? What was I supposed to do! Forget about you? Well I'm sorry, but I just cannot do that!" she screamed at him. Lifting her tear-stained face to look into his eyes, she saw relief, happiness, but mostly confusion. "Damn it, you just don't get it, do you?" Despite the fact that he was thrilled beyond words that Relena HAD actually run after him, Heero suddenly got a sinking feeling in his stomach. She wasn't going to...was she?

"Relena-" he tried to speak to her, but was cut off.

"You wouldn't understand...Damn Dr. J." she mumbled, causing Heero's eyes to widen; she never spoke like this.

"Relena, don't-"

"Well, Heero, let me put it plain and simple."

"Please, Relena-" he pleaded.

"I've tried to let you know, I really have." She was sobbing again.

"Don't, don't say it, please!" He went unheard.

"Damn it, Heero, I _love_ you!" That did it. Heero couldn't hold it in any longer. It was as if a gate was suddenly lifted, and Heero's totally secure façade came crumbling down around him. Against his will, tears came pouring out of his eyes. He couldn't stop them, though he tried, but that only succeeded in giving him the hiccups, which didn't help the situation any. Jerking away from Relena, who was staring at him in shock, he crammed his fists into his eyes and tried to remain in a semi-composed sitting position in the cool grass. He sat there sobbing, choking on his tears, and hiccupping for a minute or so before he felt Relena wrap her arms around him from behind. He tried to pull away from her, but found he didn't have the strength to get away, not that she was letting him.

"I'm sorry, Heero," Relena whispered into Heero's ear.

"You didn't do anything," he mumbled back.

"No, I mean I'm sorry...for everything you had to go through. All the hard training, fighting, stress...I can't even imagine it. And I'm sorry... Look at me Heero."

"...No..." he mumbled. He found that the tears had pretty much stopped.

"Heero," Relena said gently, placing her hand on his cheek trying to turn his face towards her. He allowed her to, but wouldn't look her in the eye. "You are a wonderful person-" Heero snorted. "Heero I'm serious. You just did what your missions said to during the war. There were battles, and people die in battles. There was nothing you could do about it. But, if it weren't for you, the war wouldn't have ended." She paused for a second. "You're not alone anymore either. You have Duo and the others, me, people who care and love you. It's all right to let your emotions free now."

"I'm being weak, I bet the others aren't sitting at home bawling over...I don't even know what I'm crying about."

"Your not weak," Relena whispered harshly. "Not weak at all."

"I am."

"No your not! I would bet money that eventually, if not already, the others are having this kind of reaction to everything. I would bet a lot of money."

"Yeah, well you have a lot of money to spare."

"Heero..." Relena sighed. She looked around briefly. "Where were you going anyway?" Heero flushed, but Relena couldn't see him in the darkness.

"I, well, I didn't have anywhere to go." Relena raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Well where did you stay for the whole past year?" she asked.

"Anywhere I could. I stayed with Duo for a while, but he has Hilde and a job, so I'd just be in the way if I went there again."

"Heero, you know you always have a home to go back to."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, I love you, and you will always have a home in my heart." Relena hooked her thumb under Heero's chin and made him look her in the eyes. "Bear with me, this might sound a little lame, but you know how they say Home is where the Heart is?" Heero nodded. "Well, it's my heart, and I live in a great big, LONELY mansion in the Sank Kingdom. And since you will always have a place in my heart, technically you live in the Sank Kingdom with me. Now I'm not saying you have to come back and live with me forever, but for as long as you need, you are welcome to stay with me."

"Relena, that wasn't lame, if fact, that's probably the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." He paused. "I...I wish, that I could tell you that I love you back, but unfortunately, I'm not entirely sure what that means. I've never been loved before, or before I met you anyway, and I never got the chance to love anything else," Heero said regretfully. Relena sighed.

"Heero...I can teach you to love..." She couldn't take it anymore. Bending over, Relena captured his lips with her own, kissing Heero for the first time in almost a year. He automatically began kissing her back, but she pulled away before the kiss got too deep. "How about this. You come back with me, and we can have a big reunion, so you can see the other pilots again. We can invite Duo, Quatre, Trowa, and...and-"

"Wufei," supplied Heero.

"Right, and Wufei. I never really got to meet him. Anyway, we can have everyone over. It would be nice to see everyone in a place other than a battlefield." Heero looked into Relena's eyes, and saw nothing but pure hope shining there. He gave her a small smile, which was more than he usually did.

"I would like that." Relena's smile widened, and she stood up. After brushing herself off, she offered a hand to Heero.

"Come on then, let's go home."

'Home,' thought Heero. 'I actually have a home to go to.' And holding Relena's hand in his own, that is exactly where they went.

**FIN**

* * *

Ta-da! Well, that's over. Thanks for reading!

-Maxine


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